Category Archives: Physics

In Other News: We Can Analyze Atmospheres of Super-Earths

Posted on February 16, 2016 by andyastronomer

(Feature Image courtesy of ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser) In the past week, the big news in astronomy was the first detection of gravitational waves, a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity. No doubt within a few years students will be reading in textbooks about how the LIGO experiment measured the gravitational […] Continue reading →

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Blog #3

Posted on February 16, 2016 by astronomer0110

For this week’s blog, I’ve decided to talk a little bit about the intuition behind the idea of  gravity. I find this theory really interesting because it makes so much sense when you think about it. As history moved along, Einstein and other physicists managed to explain the reasons why gravity acts upon objects. Gravity is due to the […] Continue reading →

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Gravity Waves and the Graviton

Posted on February 16, 2016 by 2016spaceodyssey

So physicists have recently announced the discovery of Gravitational Waves, but what does that mean for the Graviton?  Similar to how protons and electrons carry electrical charge, it is theorized that the Graviton carries, you guessed it, gravity.  Because it is a subatomic particle it is more of a focus for particle physicists than for […] Continue reading →

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The Consequences of the Interaction of Light and Gravity

Posted on February 16, 2016 by 2016spaceodyssey

It is astonishing the extent that gravity and light interact with one another.  This is of course very fortunate for us humans when trying to understand the basic force that is known as gravity.  After Isaac Newton proposed his Law of Universal Gravitation in 1687 is was generally thought that gravity was understood even though […] Continue reading →

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Geostationary Orbit – Calculations and GIF

Posted on February 15, 2016 by podolakvandysolarsystem

Geostationary Orbit (GSO) is a specific type of orbit around the earth with a period of exactly one day, intentionally matching the rate of earth’s rotation. GSO is at zero inclination, meaning it is directly above the equator. This also means that a geostationary satellite will always be in the same point in the sky […] Continue reading →

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GRAVITATIONAL WAVES!!!!

Posted on February 15, 2016 by harperastronomyblog

According to the this video by the New York Times, Scientists working at LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) have made a monumental discovery that reinforces Albert Einstein’s theory of special relatively put forth almost a hundred years ago. Einstein predicted gravitational waves when he announced his theory, but until LIGO’s announcement on Thursday, no […] Continue reading →

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LIGHTSPEED, COSMIC SPEEDLIMITS, AND (FINALLY!) LOOKING INTO THE PAST (Part 2)

Posted on February 15, 2016 by harperastronomyblog

In one of my previous posts , I explained what a light-year was and how the speed of light remains constant in a vacuum (a.k.a. space). I also explained that there would be another post explaining some of the things that I couldn’t fit in that post. Now I am finally ready to finish–the long awaited!–part […] Continue reading →

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Hearing the Universe

Posted on February 15, 2016 by alecsolarsystem

One of the most groundbreaking theories in astronomy has just been proven with the announcement last week that gravitational waves have been detected. Einstein had predicted these waves in 1916 in his theory of general relativity, and they were only just found today using lasers, which Einstein also laid the foundation for one year later in 1917. These […] Continue reading →

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It’s Gettin’ Hot in Herre

Posted on February 15, 2016 by impossibleensign

Pharrell was probably thinking of bodies when he helped penned this hit for Nelly. Despite what the title may suggest I don’t think he had thermal radiation in mind… Continue reading →

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The Tidal Forces

Posted on February 14, 2016 by alecsolarsystem

Tides are a well known and commonly occurring natural phenomenon that most people have witnessed. While many people just accept tides and don’t really think much about them, they are prime examples of how much of an impact other objects in our Solar System have on seemingly normal occurrences. The tides on a beach like […] Continue reading →

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